Ariella Geller is on the run from some very bad people and Liam Wade doesn’t know what he’s running from.Freedom has been an elusive dream for Ari, but when her chance for escape comes, she takes it. She finds herself in California and forced to accept help from strangers in order to stay off the streets and avoid being found by those she ran from.

Liam Wade is sick of living in the shadow of his famous father. All he wants is to make a name for himself as a professional surfer, but it’s impossible when the media focuses on every other aspect of his life. All he wants is respect, a chance to prove himself, but when it never comes he finds himself running and hiding from the ones who love him the most.

When their paths collide Ari and Liam are forced to confront their demons, and in the process they just might find a reason to stop running.

I laid my head against the cool glass of the bus window and watched the rain slick against it. The water beaded against the glass and then slid down in little rivulets that I traced with my finger.
I wouldn’t miss the rain.I wouldn’t miss anything about Oregon.

That place wasn’t my home. Never had been, and never would be.

With a jolt, the bus roared to life, startling me, but I relaxed a moment later when we pulled out of the station.

Freedom was so close to being mine.

I watched the people on the street as the bus pulled away. I was searching for buzzed brown hair and eerie black eyes, but he wasn’t amongst them.

He didn’t know I’d left yet.

And hopefully, by the time he did, I’d be long gone.

I adjusted my hoodie so my face was hidden from the other people on the bus and wiggled around, settling myself in for the long ride to California.

Unlike the other people on the bus, I didn’t have a cellphone to keep me company. Cellphones were traceable so I’d ditched mine. I couldn’t risk him finding me, because if he had I was certain he’d kill me. He would’ve eventually killed me if I stayed, too. My only option had been to take the risk of running away. I would have rather died on my terms than his, but if everything went according to plan, I’d be free and he’d never find me.

He called me Scarlett, but Scarlett didn’t exist.

Scarlett was a lie.

My name was Ariella, and I was reclaiming my stolen life.

Review

I was really excited about this book. Liam was very mean yet mysterious in the previous book so I was curious what his story would be. This is a much darker book than this authors normal book. Way darker. I really liked that aspect of it. The first one was so light and carefree, the fact that this one was darker was a nice change. I loved this book up until I got 90% in. Then it went downhill and got way darker. There were some dark aspects to this which I really liked because it was different from normal for this author. However the end got much darker than the book had been.

The romance was very cute as per usual for this author. I loved Liam and Ariella. Ariella is one of my favorite female characters from this author. It seemed to take a very very long time to get any details or information out of her though which at a certain point got annoying. Liam was a good guy. Not one of my favorites from this author, but I liked him. The chip on his shoulder was annoying. I didn’t really buy the excuse he uses for why he avoids his family for two years. He has such a great supportive family and I didn’t think that it was believable that he would avoid them for such a long time. Or that they would let him. I also wished there was more interactions with his family. We have fallen in love with the enter band of Willow Creek and want to know about their lives and families!

I did love Liam’s friends! They were a great aspect of the story and I think added a lot of value to the narrative.

Overall I did enjoy the book. It was mainly the end. It got so dark so quick and I didn’t think the rest of the book was leading up to something that dark.

Micalea Smeltzer is a bestselling Young and New Adult author from Winchester, Virginia.
She’s always working on her next book, and when she has spare time she loves to
read and spend time with her family.

Sadie Westbrook’s seemingly perfect life comes to a screeching halt when she catches her fiancé in bed with another woman. Suddenly, everything she believed in is tested and there’s only one person she can turn to—the guy who has been by her side ever since their best friend’s fell in love and became inseparable.

Ezra Collins—the bassist for the band Willow Creek—has only ever had one weakness, and her name is Sadie. When he receives a frantic call he rushes to her aid, helping to pick up the pieces of her crumbling life—even if that means letting Sadie live with him.

The close proximity tests the limits of their friendship and as the lines between friends and lovers blur they’ll have to decide if falling in love with your best friend is worth the risk of losing them.

I looked up at the sky and the birds flying above us. “I feel like I don’t know who I am anymore. I spent two years with a guy that stripped me of my identity. I feel like all I have of myself is my store and the rest I’m left questioning. I tried so hard to please him, to make him happy, and in the end I made myself miserable. I was just so desperate for it to work out that I overlooked how toxic our relationship was. How stupid is that?”

“You’re human,” he replied. “We have this inane desire to belong to something that is greater than we are on our own. That desire is so strong that we can fool ourselves into believing things that aren’t true.”

“So, I’m not crazy?” I cracked a smile.

“Definitely not crazy.”

His smile was comforting and I reminded myself for the hundredth time that everything would be okay.

I rested my head on his shoulder and a moment later his head rested on top of mine.

Micalea Smeltzer is a bestselling Young and New Adult author from Winchester, Virginia.
She’s always working on her next book, and when she has spare time she loves to
read and spend time with her family.

My pre-order for the week coincides with the cover reveal for NEVER TOO LATE by Micalea Smeltzer! Love this author and all her books! (Yes I have read ALL of them 🙂 ) So go ahead, check out this awesome cover, read about it and then pre-order! You won’t regret it! There is also a excerpt and a giveaway! Note: This is the second book in the Willow Creek series, but is NA instead of YA like the first, Last to Know!

Title: Never Too Late

Series: Willow Creek #2

Author: Micalea Smeltzer

Cover Design: Regina Wamba (Mae I Design)

Release Date: April 21, 2015

Synopsis

I’d never met anyone quite like Mathias Wade.

He was brooding and arrogant, but I loved him anyway.

Together we were wild and uncontained—a hurricane raging.

Then I had to leave, and words were exchanged that could never be undone.But now I was back, and Mathias better watch out, because this bitch wasn’t finished with him.

Game. Set. Match.

All is fair in love and war, right?

Mathias Wade, the lead singer of Willow Creek, is used to getting everything he wants. Except for Remy Parker—the one that got away. Childhood friends that grew into more, Remy was the one constant in his life until she moved away. In anger, he lashed out and broke the only girl he ever loved. With temptation around every corner Mathias drowns his sorrow in women and alcohol. When the band returns to their hometown for the holidays the last thing Mathias expects is to run into Remy—but she’s back, and she’s not done with him.

Remy never forgot Mathias or the pain he caused her. When she moves back to the place she grew up to take care of her ailing grandma her heart is set on revenge. She’s determined to make Mathias fall in love with her all over again—only this time she’s going to break his heart.

But Mathias never stopped loving Remy—and she soon discovers that her feelings haven’t disappeared either.

Can two people too stubborn for their own good overcome their own demons and find the love they always deserved?

I jumped up on the counter and he moved to stand in front of me, bracing his hands beside my hips. I kicked my legs against the cabinets like a little kid as he stared down at me intensely. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for in my eyes, but he must have found it, because he cupped my cheek and leaned in.

“This feels like when we were younger,” he whispered. “Like no time at all has passed.” His words echoed my previous thoughts.

I closed my eyes, feeling his breath fan across my lips.

God, I’d missed him.

It didn’t seem possible to miss someone I’d grown to hate, but I did.

I was pretty sure that when someone like Mathias came into your life they were impossible to forget.

He was like the sun, burning so bright that even once he was gone I was still blinded.

“Did you ever miss me?” I asked. “Even once?” I held my breath, waiting for him to explode—because that was Mathias. He could be nice one minute and an asshole the next. I wouldn’t put it past him to kick me out for my question.

Micalea Smeltzer is a bestselling Young and New Adult author from Winchester, Virginia. She’s always working on her next book, and when she has spare time she loves to read and spend time with her family.